By Marc, Editor-in-Chief at AI Trend Spot.
China has launched one two-year commercial test program for satellite Internet of Things (IoT) services.a move aimed at expanding connectivity in low Earth orbit (LEO) and accelerating the adoption of non-terrestrial IoT in key industries. The initiative was announced in Wuhan during the 2025 China 5G + Industrial Internet Conference.
A new phase for China’s satellite IoT ambitions
The commercial test runs for 24 months and allows approved companies to deploy and validate satellite-based IoT services under large-scale, real-world conditions. Target sectors include intelligent logistics and transportation, energy and utilities, environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry, emergency response, maritime operations and industrial internet applications.
Satellite IoT is positioned as a complement to terrestrial cellular networks, providing large-scale connectivity for low-bitrate devices in areas where 4G/5G coverage is weak or economically impractical. This approach is in line with the direction of emerging hybrid terrestrial-satellite standards and early implementations already visible in the global ecosystem, where NTN integration with 5G core networks and NB-IoT over satellite proofs of concept are moving towards commercial scale.
Regulatory framework and technical requirements
Participating companies must comply with MIIT rules on registration, terminal certification, spectrum usage, security compliance and periodic performance reporting during the test.
Operators are accelerating deployment of satellite IoT
China’s national telecom operators are already scaling satellite IoT pilot projects, particularly for logistics tracking, remote utility monitoring and water conservation infrastructure. In parallel, new LEO launches for emergency, maritime and rural connectivity are helping to lay the foundations of an integrated “space-air-ground” communications stack. A similar acceleration is underway globally as the competitive landscape in satellite IoT intensifies and the capacity of the LEO constellation expands rapidly.
Industry estimates cited by Chinese media suggest China’s satellite communications market will exceed RMB 80 billion (around $11 billion) in 2023 and could sustain double-digit annual growth in the second half of the decade as commercial satellite IoT moves from testing to scaled licensing.
Strategic Context: China seeks leadership in NTN and LEO constellations
Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) – including satellite IoT, satellite broadband and future direct-to-device services – will become a central layer of China’s next-generation infrastructure strategy. The trial supports faster domestic LEO constellation deployment, hybrid 5G/NTN service models, and industrial use cases requiring widespread coverage.
outlook
The two-year commercial satellite IoT test provides vendors, operators and industrial customers with a controlled framework to validate real-world performance, security measures and operational models prior to full market launch. If successful, it could accelerate the nationwide availability of low-cost, low-power satellite IoT services and strengthen China’s position in the fast-growing global NTN ecosystem.
